BAGHDAD - A total of nine people were killed and 20 others injured when a roadside bomb struck a popular restaurant in central Iraq on Sunday, the police said.

The bombing attack in downtown Fallujah, 50 km west of Iraq's capital Baghdad, also caused material damage to the restaurant and nearby shops, a local police source told Xinhua.

The death toll was preliminary and might increase as rescuers were working at the site, the source said, adding that the security forces had cordoned off the scene.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Violence is still common in Iraq despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.